Definition, Meaning & Synonyms
umlaut
Noun
/ˈum.laʊt/
Definition
A diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a vowel, indicating a change in sound or pronunciation.
Examples
- In German, the word ‘schön’ shows how an umlaut affects the pronunciation of the letter ‘o’.
- When learning to read German, students often struggle with umlauts because they change the sounds of vowels significantly.
Meaning
In phonetics, an umlaut alters the tone of the vowel when it is pronounced, often turning a simple vowel into a fronted vowel sound.
Synonyms
- Diacritic
